Seal-flap gumming and drying in envelope machines



Feb 1 8, 193s. M. GQD R 2,031,261

SEAL FLAP GUMMING AND DRYING IN ENVELOPE MACHINES Filed May 6, 1935 Patented Feb. 18, 1936 UNITED STATES -SEAL-FLAP GUMMING AND DRYING IN ENVELOPE MACHINES Max Goder, Nensa, Germany, assignor to United States Envelope Company, Springfield, Mass., a corporation of Maine Application May 6, 1935, Serial No. 20,044 In' Germany May 11, 1934 5 Claims. (CL 93-62) The present invention relates to seal-flap gumming and drying in envelope machines. The invention resides in a novel and highly useful arrangment by which to prevent the seal-flap, which 5 has gum applied to its edge coincidentally with the reception of the folded part of the envelope blank in a compartment of the drying chain, from sticking or adhering to the moving gumming device or instrumentality, and thereby upsetting said 10 chain's seizure and handling of such folded envelope part. Other and further-objects and advantages of the invention'will appear from the following detailed description, taken in connection with the accompanying drawing, in which 15 Fig. 1 is a view in side elevation of an envelope machines seal-flap gumming and drying devices in accordance with my invention.

Fig. 2 is a plan view of the arrangement shown in Fig. l. 20 Like reference characters refer to like parts in both figures.

The drawing illustrates certain instrumentalities which are provided near the delivery or fin ishing end of an envelope-folding machine,- 85 which latter provides suitable mechanism, not shown, for folding in and sticking down the side .flaps a, a and the bottom flap b of successive envelope blanks, and for forwarding such articles in succession, bottom" folds foremost, to the herein- 30 illustrated devices for applying glue or gum to each article's trailing extended closure or seal flap c, which preferably has previously been scored or bent on fold line In the arrangement illustrated, each such article is presented fiatwise 85 by any suitable feeding means, not shown, to the bight or pinch of a. driven lowerroller I- and a pair of spaced cooperating upper rollers 2, 2, the latter carried by suitable-pivoted arms 3, 3, and resting by'gravity on thelower roller I, so as to 40 engage and feed the envelopes by their side edges ,only. This spacing of the rollers 2, 2 prevents them from interfering with the operation of the device, now to. be described, for applyinggum or glue to the free edge or extremity of the extended 45 seal flap c of each article fed between said-rollers.

Above the rollers I and 2, 2 is a shaft 4, adapted I to rotate in synchronism with the rotation of roller I and carrying a pair of segmental ribs 5, 5 (only one being shown in Fig. 1), which are divergent 50 from each other in such manner that their edge .surfaces, in the rotation of shaft 4, will register substantially with the edge areas 6, 6 of seal flap 0 as the latter-travels over the roller I. In the rotation of shaft 4, the edges of the ribs 5, 5 re- 55 ceive glue from contact with a roller I, that in turn contacts with a roller 8 partially'immersedin a glue receptacle 9. The glue so received is transferred to the edges of seal flap 0 while the latter is on the roller I, such rollerI serving as a bed or platen to support the seal flap during this gluing 5 or gumming operation.

In the forward movement of each article or envelope that carries the seal flap 0 into glue-receiving position, the already-folded bottom part of the envelope is projected into one of the open com- 10 partments of an endless drying chain, here shown as passing around sprockets concentric with a roller I0 and having a counterclockwise rotation, Fig. 1, so that the chain in its travel provides empty compartments moving toward the gumming devices on the upper course of, said chain, the same compartments having a receding travel on the lower course of said chain. As here shown. the compartmentsare constituted by a series of overlapping plates II, II suitably attached to and normally lying substantially flat against the chain links I2, I2, as the latter travel through the horizontal upper and lower courses of chain movement. However, when the links I2, I2 are rounding their sprockets, the plates II, II, as shown in Fig. 1, are thrown into different angular positions relative to each other, and said links I2, I2 thereby open up spaces between adjacent plates to provide a succession of compartments which are presented in properly timed relation to the de livery of the folded articles or envelopes,by the rollers I and 2, 2, so-that an envelope enters each open chain compartment at about the time its seal flap is having gum applied thereto by the ribs 5, 5. The compartments tend to remain open while the chain is passing around the sprockets, and gradually close up, to grip and hold the envelopes received therein as the chain flattens out on its lower course beyond the roller I0.

With drying chains of this type heretofore used, 40 the tendency of the envelopes received in successive compartments rounding the end roller of the chain to drop out by gravity before the plates II, II have a. chance to close and grip the work, has been counteracted by the use of suitable guides or supports arranged. to be engaged by the open seal flap portions c,. 0. But such guides have proved generally unsatisfactory, because in the traverse of the same by successive freshly gummed seal flaps, the latter are apt to contact with each other and thereby cause adjacent envelopes to stick together. And still another diflieulty in seal-flap gumming and drying arrangements of the chain type herein illustrated is the tendency foreach seal flap to adhere to and therefore to be shifted by the moving gum or glue-applying devices, such as shown herein at the roller with a hollow member I4 that is periodically connected with and disconnected from any suitable sourceof pressure or vacuum, not shown. During the engagement with each seal flap of the glue-applying members 5, 5, the suction is effective through the apertures I 3, 13 to hold said seal flap fast to the roller I, and thereby to overcome any tendency of the same to stick to and move with the glue-applying devices 5, 5. In this way, the engagement of the gumming devices 5, 5 with the seal flap is not permitted to affect or upset in any way the proper reception of the envelopes other end in the open space I5 aflorded by the separation of two of the plates II, II as they start to round the roller ID. The release of the suction grip of roller I on each seal flap is appropriately arranged to occur: in the rotation of roller I, at about the time that suction openings I6, I6 on the periphery of roller III become effective to grip and hold the other end of the envelope that has entered an open compartment of the drying chain. To this end, a hollow member I'I, having connection with any suitable source of suction or vacuum, not shown, is arranged to be connected through the interior ,of roller III with successive openings I6, I6 of said roller as such openings, in the counterclockwise rotation of said roller, arrive opposite to and thereafter move along an elongated segmental port I8, Fig. 1.

In this way, each envelope or article, as its advancing foldedend is received in an open compartment of the chain, is seized or gripped at such end by suction exerted through such of the openings I6, I6 as at, that time are just coming into registry with the port I8; this suction is maintained through the openings I6, I6 in question during the traverse of such openings along the arc of the port I8, or until the suction-seized envelope has been carried down around the roller III to substantially the point where the chain I2 passes off on its lower course, tangentially to the periphery of said roller. At this point, the suction is broken or released, but at this point the successive plates II, II of the chain assume sub-' stantially horizontal positions, closing in on each interposed folded envelope'portion to grip and hold the same in substantially horizontal position all through its travel along the lower course of the drying chain. Each envelope so gripped and moved by the chain has its freshly-glued seal flap 0 extending downwardly, substantially at right angles to its folded body portion, and as a consequence, not only are the seal flaps c, c kept positively out of contact with each other, but also there is maximum exposure of the wet gum on said seal flaps to the air, for the rapid and complete drying of said gum. It is to be particularly noted that provision for suction-gripping of the envelopes in the successive compartments of the drying chain is effective throughout that portion of the movement of each compartment when same is in open or non-gripping relation to the envelope received therein. In the absence of such suction gripping, the envelopes would be free during such movement to drop put of the compartments, and this would necessitate the use of guiding and supporting devices over which the seal flaps c, 0 would be dragged,--an operation which necessarily involves contact of adjacent seal flaps with each other and the danger of transferring or smearing the freshly-applied glue thereon. This difilculty is entirely eliminated by the present invention, which does away with any devices in contact with the seal flaps after the wet gum has been applied thereto.

I claim:

1. In seal-flapgumming and drying mechanism for envelope machines, a moving gumming device, a cooperating bed roller, and suction means pgovided by said roller and operable on each seal flap to prevent same from sticking to and from being moved by the gumming device.

2. In seal-flap gumming and drying mechanism for envelope machines, a moving gumming device, a cooperating bed roller, a drying chain onto which each envelope is fed by said device and roller, and suction means provided by said roller and operable on the seal flap of each envelope to prevent the gumming device, by adhesion of said flap thereto, from displacing the envelope from the position initially assumed by it on said drying chain.

3. In an envelope machine, a gumming mechanism for the seal flaps of successively-presented envelopes, and a drying chain receiving said envelopes from said gumming mechanism, in combination with suction means associated with the gumming mechanism and operable on each seal flap, for maintaining the delivery position of each envelope on the drying chain.

4. In an envelope machine, a gumming mechanism for the seal flaps of successively-presented envelopes, and a drying chain receiving said envelopes from said gumming mechanism, in combination with suction means associated with the gumming mechanism and operable on each seal flap, for maintaining the delivery position of each envelope on the drying chain, and suction means associated with said drying chain, and brought into action substantially coincident with the release of the seal flap by the first suction means, for maintaining such delivery position while the chain travel is being reversed.

5. In an envelope machine, an endless drying chain providing a succession of compartments, the latter being constituted by plates attached to the chain and normally lying in shingled relation while travelling along the flat upper and lower chain courses, said plates spreading apart for the introduction of envelopes between them, in the zone of chain movement between said courses, and suction means operable in such zone for supporting the envelopes until said plates close in on one another and resume their shingled relation.

MAX GODER. 

